Albanese slams lack of federal climate policy

WHILE in Bundaberg this week, Labor leader Anthony Albanese hit out at the Prime Minister's "dismissal" of Australia ranking last out of 61 countries for climate policy and attended an international summit in Madrid with nothing to show for energy policies.

"He avoids scrutiny at any opportunity, but the world is looking at us and the world knows that for the last seven years we have not had an energy policy, the world knows we don't have a policy on renewable energy beyond 2020," he said.

"People know that you can't say that black is white, you can't say emissions are going down when they are going up and you can't say we have a plan when we don't," he said.

"And with the bushfires being so intense during the recent months, the fact is Australian's are looking for leadership from this prime minister, leadership on climate change, leadership on practical measures to do with the bushfires; including leadership in how our volunteer fire fighters get compensated and are able to do the amazing work that they do."

Labor leader Anthony Albanese at Bundaberg Rum.

He said volunteer fire fighters deserve our respect and our thanks for the courage that they show in looking after people, looking after property and looking after all of our interest in the work that they've done.

"And to be dismissed by the Prime Minister who's said that they are there because they want to be there, is in my view inappropriate and disrespectful of the work they are doing," he said.

Mr Albanese said climate change couldn't be dealt with through "accounting tricks", emissions needed to be reduced.

When questioned over Federal Labor targets, he said they would make their decisions closer to the election, "when we see what the starting point is", but this government needed to act now.